Stargazers catch sight of ‘super blood moon’

Across several continents, people have been having a rare glimpse of the celestial phenomenon. A lunar eclipse, which gave the moon a distinctive red hue, took place as the earth and moon were at their closest. The rare double event – which saw the moon at its largest in the sky at the same time as a lunar eclipse – was visible late Sunday into Monday from the Americas, Europe, Africa and western Asia. Supermoons occur when the moon is at its closest point to the earth, while also in its brightest phase. As a result, the moon looks far brighter and larger than it might at its furthest point. This time, it coincided with a lunar eclipse as the Earth’s shadow blocked out most of the light that would normally bathe the moon. The result was a rare “super blood moon,” last seen in 1982. NASA tweeted a picture of the moon from Washington DC. It also tweeted an explanatory graphic of the event. Another Twitter user posted a picture of the moon over Seattle’s Space Needle. Indeed, it was only the fifth recorded instance of a blood moon, with the first being logged back in 1900. While the event provided an interesting spectacle for onlookers, it also gave researchers the rare opportunity to learn more about the composition of the moon’s crust, and the rapid heating and cooling that occurs on the surface of the Earth’s closest heavenly companion. Did you see the blood moon? You can add your comments below. The thread stays open for 24 hours after publication.